Kuoni - a leading premium, award-winning tour operator - has reported that bookings for Africa were up 18% over the last week, compared to last year.
Kuoni - a leading premium, award-winning tour operator - has reported that bookings for Africa were up 18% over the last week, compared to last year. The result was reported on in a BBC Online story looking at how British holidaymakers are rebooking Easter trips away from Dubai due to the war in neighbouring Iran, causing a spike in demand for "reassuring" destinations, travel firms have told the BBC. Destinations such as Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt have experienced a slow down in holiday bookings but bookings for destinations in Western Europe as well as the Caribbean, Mauritius and the US are up as some airports report flights filling up faster than last year. On Tuesday, BA suspended some Middle East routes until June.
The airline said it had temporarily cancelled flights to Dubai, Bahrain, Tel Aviv and Amman in Jordan up to and including 31 May. British travellers are looking for "reassuring alternatives to avoid travel through the Middle East", said Neil Swanson, managing director of TUI UK and Ireland. They are switching to "familiar, easy-to-reach" destinations, with Cape Verde also seeing higher demand, he added.
TravelSupermarket shared data on online search interest. Searches for destinations including Cape Verde have more than doubled between March 1-11, compared with the 11 previous days, according to the figures. While the UK government advises against travel to some parts of Egypt, this does not include the tourist hotspots. Dame Irene Hays, the owner and chair of Hays Travel, told the BBC's Today programme she was not surprised bookings have fallen. She said the biggest losers have been destinations that require transfers in the Middle East such as the Maldives, India and Mauritius.
Source: BBC News